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Prospect Sampson nearly completes no-hitter

2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Adrian Sampson has the chance to have three at-least Major League average offerings

By Stephen Pianovich and Teddy Cahill
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MLB.com |

Right-hander Adrian Sampson, the Pirates' No. 19 prospect, took a no-hitter into the ninth inning Friday. Though a one-out double ended his bid, he finished off the shutout and Double-A Altoona defeated Bowie, 3-0.

Entering the ninth inning, Bowie had managed to get just two baserunners against Sampson. In the first inning, Niuman Romero reached on an error by first baseman Stetson Allie and Kyeong Kang drew a walk in the seventh. Otherwise, Sampson had cruised through the first eight innings.

Sampson got a quick groundout to open the ninth inning, bringing Mike Yastrzemski to the plate. He had grounded out twice and popped out in his first three at bats, but, facing Sampson for the fourth time, he lined an 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a double.

Sampson quickly recovered and retired the next two batters to complete the shutout, the first of his career. He struck out two batters and threw 98 pitches.

Sampson didn't need much offense Friday night and the Curve supplied just enough, scoring three runs on seven hits. Outfielder Josh Bell, the Pirates' No. 5 prospect, contributed one of the hits, his first since getting promoted Thursday from Class A Advanced Bradenton.

With the victory, Sampson improved to 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA. He has struck out 86 batters and walked 28 in 122 innings this season. The 22-year-old ranks third in the Eastern League in ERA and first in innings pitched.

Stephen Pianovich is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.